Method and system for the generation and management of tactile commands for tactile sensation

Abstract

A system for the generation and management of tactile sensation includes a computing subsystem. A method for the generation and management of tactile sensation includes receiving a set of inputs and processing the set of inputs. Additionally or alternatively, the method 200 can include: communicating tactile commands to a tactile interface system; operating the tactile interface system based on the tactile commands; and/or performing any other suitable processes.

We claim: 
     
       1. A system for generating tactile sensation with a stimulation device, the system comprising:
 the stimulation device comprising a set of ultrasonic transducers; 
 a processing subsystem in communication with the stimulation device and a tracking subsystem, wherein the processing subsystem:
 receives a first set of inputs, wherein the first set of inputs comprises a first set of locations associated with virtual content, the virtual content comprising moving virtual content, wherein the first set of locations is associated with a set of meshes defining at least a portion of the virtual content; 
 receives a second set of inputs from the tracking subsystem, wherein the second set of inputs comprises a second set of locations associated with the user; 
 determines a set of virtual contact regions between the virtual content and the user based on the first and second sets of locations; and 
 scales the mesh to optimize a size of the virtual content relative to an interaction volume of the stimulation device; and 
 
 a control subsystem in communication with the processing subsystem, wherein the control subsystem operates the set of ultrasonic transducers to produce mid-air ultrasonic stimulation based on the set of virtual contact regions. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the virtual content comprises a set of digital objects associated with an immersive environment. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the second set of locations is further associated with a hand of the user. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the set of virtual contact regions comprises a set of virtual contact points. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 4 , wherein the set of virtual contact regions is determined based on a set of proximity metrics, the set of proximity metrics determined based on comparing the first set of locations with the second set of locations. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the set of proximity metrics comprises an overlap metric. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of locations is associated with a set of surfaces, wherein the set of surfaces defines at least a portion of the virtual content. 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 7 , wherein the set of meshes define the set of surfaces. 
     
     
       9. A method for generating tactile sensation with a stimulation device, the method comprising:
 receiving a first set of inputs associated with a set of moving digital objects; 
 scaling the set of moving digital objects to optimize a size of the set of moving digital objects relative to an interaction volume of the stimulation device; 
 receiving a second set of inputs from a tracking subsystem, wherein the second set of inputs comprises a second set of locations associated with a user; 
 defining a set of virtual contact regions between the set of moving digital objects and the user based on the first and second sets of locations; and 
 operating a set of ultrasonic transducers of the stimulation device to produce mid-air ultrasonic stimulation based on the set of virtual contact regions. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the stimulation device is configured to produce ultrasonic stimulation. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the ultrasonic stimulation comprises mid-air ultrasonic stimulation. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the first set of inputs is received from a third party subsystem. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the set of virtual contact regions is determined based on a set of proximity metrics, the set of proximity metrics determined based on comparing the first set of locations with the second set of locations. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13 , wherein the set of proximity metrics comprises an overlap metric. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 13 , wherein the set of virtual contact regions comprises a set of virtual contact points. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising determining a set of stimulation parameters based on the set of virtual contact regions. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , wherein the set of stimulation parameters comprises a selection of a subset of the set of transducers. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the set of stimulation parameters further comprises at least one of: a set of amplitudes associated with the subset of transducers, a set of frequencies associated with the subset of transducers, and a set of phase values associated with the subset of transducers. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 receiving an updated set of inputs associated with the set of moving digital objects; 
 receiving an updated set of inputs comprising an updated set of locations associated with the user from the tracking subsystem; 
 adjusting the set of virtual contact regions based on the updated sets of locations; and 
 operating the set of ultrasonic transducers of the stimulation device to produce mid-air ultrasonic stimulation based on the adjusted set of virtual contact regions. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 9 , wherein scaling the set of moving digital objects comprises scaling a mesh defining the set of moving digital objects.